Slow progress on tidal generation in Cape Breton, Bay of Fundy

Assessments of power potential show technological, financial hurdles remain

The long, slow march toward the development of Nova Scotia’s tidal resource took another step Monday.

“What the (strategic environmental assessments) do is provide the baseline information required for the deployment of commercial-scale tidal energy devices,” said Stephen Dempsey, executive director of the Offshore Energy Research Association of Nova Scotia.

Dempsey’s group released updated assessments for the Bay of Fundy and Cape Breton tidal resources Monday.

During public consultations in Cape Breton, Stantec Consulting Ltd. heard concerns about the affect on migratory aquatic species of placing turbines in the Barra Strait and the Great Bras d’Or Channel.

“This was highlighted at the second Mi’kmaq community meeting where it was stated that commercial fish stocks within the Bras d’Or ecosystem were currently distressed and a number of important fish stocks had severely declined in recent years,” reads the Cape Breton report.

Members of the public said “further activities that could impact the system in unknown ways should be avoided.”

While the consultants heard a “generally favourable” view of tidal as a renewable energy source during nine public meetings and roundtable discussions in Cape Breton, they also heard calls for more research into how the emerging technology affects the environment.

“Before deployment occurs, all the community concerns must be respected,” said Dempsey.

There are two small approved tidal projects for Cape Breton, though installation hasn’t begun in the Barra Strait or Great Bras d’Or Channel.

The bigger potential energy source is in the Minas Passage, near the head of the Bay of Fundy, where the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy estimates there is 2,500 megawatts of recoverable power.

The extreme forces exerted on test turbines by the 160-billion tonnes of seawater rushing into and out of the Bay of Fundy twice daily have created technological hurdles to developing the resource.

“I think we’re some ways away,” Dempsey said of when large-scale commercial development of the Bay of Fundy tidal resource would begin.

“But we’re getting closer.”

A variety of turbine designs are being tested at the research facility near Parrsboro. One, a four-megawatt commercial tidal array that will feed into the province’s power grid, is projected to be in place by the end of next year.

“It was generally understood by forum participants that the Bay of Fundy is a significantly more challenging working environment than perhaps was originally appreciated,” reads the report.

“At the same time, the pool of international venture capital needed to commercialize this emerging investment is limited.”

There are environmental concerns in the Bay of Fundy too.

The strategic environmental assessment for that area highlighted concerns about research showing species like striped bass and sturgeon migrate through all levels of the water column, including depths where turbines would be placed.